Earthquake
by Nightlast
Summary: A sudden earthquake strikes Domino and Marik is trapped in an unstable building! Who else survived and what else can go wrong? Will he manage to escape? Sibling and friendship cuteness with added angst!
1. The Danger Begins

AN- This is going to be my first multi-chapter fic that will actually get continued. Just to say though, none of the interaction between Marik and Serenity is supposed to be romance. Ah well. One last note, I know Serenity is around 13 or something, but she's often reffered to as a child in my fics because of the way she acts (probably because of her mother sheltering her almost all her life or something.)

Disclaimer: Yugioh does not belong to me, but this plot does. glomps the plot

Kind reviews are welcomed and would be much appreciated! Thankies!

Oh yes, and thank you to Luckyladybug66 for checking over this and stuff! Also to Elora for reading over it a bit first!

* * *

As carefully as he could, Marik lifted himself off of the floor and onto his feet, wincing in pain when he finally managed it. Averting his eyes from the unfortunate ones who had been killed by the sudden and unexpected earthquake, he looked to the door of the building that they had been sought shelter in. Unluckily, from what he could see, it was blocked off or jammed. That could prove to be a bit of a problem...

He had known at the time that it would be a bad idea, but it had been even more dangerous outside. They just hadn't been able to take the risk. The shop had been some people's only hope of escaping the falling glass and rubble.

"Please don't let me be the only one who survived..." he whispered to himself, looking around at the destruction that had been caused. It would be so unfair, that he had been spared while everyone else had not.

He bit his lip and closed his eyes when nobody replied. Everything remained still except for the settling dust or occasional rumble. That was until Marik noticed a bit of movement to his right, close to the shop's counter. Immediately, he perked up and worked his way over, praying that he had found somebody alive.

The small figure pulled itself up slowly, holding onto the cash register for balance. Marik was shocked beyond belief to learn that standing before him was Serenity Wheeler. Shaking his head, he hurried over.

Hearing footsteps, Serenity turned her head towards them quickly, her eyes widening upon seeing who else had managed to survive, "Marik!" she gasped in shock, her eyes widening further upon seeing that he was hurt. "Oh! You're hurt!"

Marik smiled gently as he reached her side. "I am alright," he said comfortingly, more worried about her safety than his own. "Are you?"

"I-I think so," Serenity said, swallowing slightly and trying to focus more, "just a bit shaken." She paused again, looking around the room and trying desperately not to throw up. Marik took notice of this quickly.

"Don't look," he advised softly, though he was also sickened to the core. "We should leave now. It's still dangerous."

The child nodded slowly but then froze. "The door..."

"It's blocked, I know." Looking around, Marik decided that the only way they were going to get out was by going another way. It would be difficult and probably perilous in places, but there didn't seem to be any other way. The stairs seemed their best bet at the moment. Stepping carefully over yet more rubble, he came to stand by Serenity again. "The only way we can get out is if we find another exit. I think that we may have a chance at finding one if we try those stairs. What do you think?"

Serenity blinked, looking up at him shakily with trusting eyes. "Okay."

Nodding, Marik helped Serenity over the debris and closer to the old staircase, praying mentally that he wouldn't fail her and get them both killed. It was bad enough that somebody as young as Serenity had to see this sort of thing without being caught in it all as well! Children deserved better than that, much better...

It didn't take them too long at all to reach the top of the stairs, which was surprising indeed considering the amount of obstacles that they had to cross in order to just get anywhere at all. It was slow progress though, and they often had to pause to get Serenity over some of the more dangerous barriers without mishap.

Falling to her knees at the top of the stairs, Serenity stared up at Marik, who was currently attempting to get his breath back. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she murmured, obviously upset and more than a little disheartened. "It's too much for me to keep up with you. You should go on without me and get out yourself." She hated to think about the possibility of Marik getting hurt because of her, and she was only slowing down their escape from the now unstable building. It wouldn't be long before either an aftershock struck or the entire place just collapsed.

Seemingly surprised, Marik knelt down in front of her and looked into her eyes firmly. "We can do this, Serenity. I am not going to leave this place without you."

"But... what if..." She shuddered as once again, she thought about what could happen if they didn't hurry up. "What if the building collapses or something?!"

Marik smiled again. "We'll just have to make sure that we get out before that happens then, won't we?" he said, reaching out and touching her trembling hand gently, still looking into her eyes. "Joey wouldn't want you to give up."

Gripping his hand tightly, Serenity nodded, pulling herself slowly to her feet, "You're right; Big Brother would never want me to give up like that." She looked up at Marik.

Smiling once again, Marik looked around to see if there was an exit that they could use nearby. None. It had to be somewhere else, perhaps situated on another corridor, but on the same floor? Looking back at Serenity, he decided that he was going to have to take a bit of a chance.

"Listen," he said quietly, "I'm going to have to try and see if there's a way to get into that other corridor by the door over there. Would you prefer to stay here or come with me?"

"I think I should stay here," Serenity said, shivering and pulling her jacket closer around her. "I don't want to get in your way."

Marik nodded. "Alright."

After investigating the area for a while, Marik could see clearly that it would it wouldn't take much work to clear the way. It was obvious that the corridor was dangerous though, considering the gaping holes and cracks that had been caused by the quake earlier. He very much doubted that it would be able to hold much weight for long, so if they were going to go that way, they would have to be quick to avoid the floor caving in beneath them.

A chilling laugh echoed through the room suddenly, surprising Marik and making him jump. "Good afternoon, Hikari" a voice sneered, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

The Egyptian boy could recognize that voice anywhere. "You!!"

Yami Marik sneered again, materializing out of the shadows. "Who else?" he jeered. "I just thought I'd drop by and say hello, actually." He laughed mockingly, his eyes narrowed as he grinned psychotically.

"What have you done this time, fiend?!" Marik demanded, purposefully ignoring the rest of what the being had said.

The grin widened. "Nothing." Yami Marik paused, seemingly debating something in his head, even though the crazed expression never once left his face. After several seconds, he purred, "Yet."

Marik narrowed his eyes, unwilling to let his frustration get the best of him. "Meaning?"

The Yami laughed maliciously, his eyes sparkling with delight. "Can't you guess, little Hikari?" he asked tauntingly. "If you can't, let's just say that I'm sure that you'll be upset to learn the fate of the siblings you love more than life itself." Yami Marik smirked again, thoroughly enjoying tormenting the poor boy standing before him.

Swallowing the sudden knot in his throat, Marik simply glared at the being, unwilling to answer. He had been so occupied with trying to think up a way to get both him and Serenity out of the building safely that he hadn't once thought that Rishid and Ishizu had been hurt. He had assumed that they were safe...

"They're dead."

Paling drastically, Marik took a small step back. "You're lying," he whispered.

Sensing that now would be an ideal time to strike and quite possibly deal some long lasting damage to the boy, Yami Marik stalked forwards slowly, circling Marik. "Oh really? How can I be lying when I heard their last, pitiful words?" he said viciously, enjoying himself immensely.

Marik stared at him, tears gathering in his eyes, despite his efforts to keep them at bay. He was lying... This wasn't true... "No..."

"Pleading for you to come and help them..."

Marik choked back a cry, still trying desperately not to believe the demon's words. No... It couldn't have happened! They couldn't be gone! He would have known and he would have helped them!!

"Watching as they finally gave in and died, right at my feet." The Yami continued without mercy, closing in on his prey.

Marik fell to his knees, hardly able to stand it anymore. This was too much for him to handle! Finally, after a few minutes of listening to his own ragged breathing and the sound of his Yami's slow and taunting footsteps, Marik looked up, determination and anger flashing in his lavender eyes. "You lie!" he screamed. Shakily he tried to use his hands to push himself back up.

Seemingly unfazed by this, Yami Marik just continued to move closer, smirking all the while. At last, he stood directly in front of his old Hikari. "I'm not lying about anything, Hikari." He sneered, shoving the boy backwards hard and knocking him harshly to the floor, not giving him time to react or fight back. Swiftly, he pinned the boy down and grabbed the Millennium Rod out of Marik's belt, unsheathing it and holding the dagger end to his throat. "Fitting actually," he sneered evilly, looking psychotic, "because that's exactly where you're going to die as well!" He raised the Rod high, preparing to strike.

Closing his eyes tightly, Marik waited for the final strike, not bothering to try and reply to the demon's words. What could he say? Nothing would do him any good. One thing he did know though, he wasn't going to beg. He would never beg, especially not to his Yami.

"No!!!" Serenity screamed from where she had been watching helplessly, but seeing what was about to happen, she knew that Marik would die if she didn't help him! She had to do something! Gathering her courage quickly, she ran forward and grabbed the heaviest thing she could lift, throwing it at the evil Yami as hard as she possible could. "Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything to you!!" she cried.

Snarling, Yami Marik stood up, purposefully slamming Marik's head against the ground to keep him down longer. He stalked towards the trembling girl menacingly, still holding the Rod tightly in one hand. Holding it up, he blasted her into the wall, laughing at her cry of pain. "I have little patience for people who try and get in my way, my dear." He sneered, his eyes flashing in anger.

Walking closer, he looked at her almost lazily, enjoying the look of terror that shone brightly in her hazel eyes as she stared at him. Smirking, he laid the tip of the dagger against her throat, almost gently, and pressed down a bit.

Whimpering and trembling, Serenity pushed back, trying to move away from the cold metal. In response to this, Yami Marik merely pushed it closer to her again, breaking the skin slightly and causing the smallest amount of blood to well up. Crying out, Serenity looked at the fiend pleadingly, shivering at the cruel look he was giving her. Closing her eyes as tightly as possible, she choked back a small sob.

Groaning, Marik opened his eyes slowly, having been knocked nearly unconscious by the blow to his head. Pushing himself up onto his elbows and then onto his feet, he stared at the scene before him, knowing with a sinking feeling that his Yami had no mercy for anyone, especially for those who got in his way. He couldn't let anything happen to Serenity!

Growling, he called over to his Yami. "Let her go," he snapped, anger coursing though him, "she has nothing to do with our fight." He hoped that maybe Yami Marik would spare her and go for him again instead.

The floor shook, groaning as the earth below rumbled threateningly.

Dropping the girl and kicking her out of the way, Yami Marik half turned and glared at his Hikari, his eyes glittering with malice. "This isn't over. Remember that, my pathetic little Hikari." He laughed wickedly, his eyes narrowing even further, and with that final warning, he vanished, leaving his Hikari and Serenity alone once again.

Neither of them were prepared for the aftershock as it finally struck, turning their world upside down.

* * *

End of chapter 1!


	2. Leap Of Faith Part 1

_AN- Sorry that this took so long! I'll try and update quicker in the future, but I can't promise anything! As always, kind reviews would be welcome, along with helpful criticism, but flames will be reported. Thank you!_

**_Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh does not belong to me!_**

* * *

"Oh, this is good!" Marik said to himself sarcastically, running over to Serenity and pulling his young friend over to a sheltered corner where they would be safer from the destruction. First, there's an earthquake, then his Yami appears, and now there's an aftershock that threatens to take the building down to the ground!

Cowering by Marik, Serenity curled herself into a protective ball, whimpering as she heard things falling to the floor and breaking due to the tremors. She had a feeling that this was only going to make things harder for them. She whispered frantically under her breath, praying for it to be over soon.

As quickly as it had come, the aftershock died down, leaving all-out destruction in its wake. It had almost been as bad as the original earthquake itself! Uncurling herself slowly, Serenity lifted her head slightly and pulled herself onto her knees, looking around the wreckage with growing dread and horror. She dreaded to think of how many more people had been hurt now.

Sighing with relief, Marik stood up slowly, using the wall as support. Lucky this place was here… he thought to himself grimly as he glanced around. Just about everywhere else in the room-like corridor had been covered in dust and new debris from the latest assault. Looking over at where they had been a few moments before, he winced.

A bookcase now lay across the place, with the books that it had once held scattered around randomly on the dust covered floor, which was creaking in a dangerous way.

"What do we do now?" Serenity asked worriedly, eyeing the floor near the corridor they had to pass through nervously. It wasn't too far from them, and the bookcase was even closer, just a few meters away. The flooring looked as if it could give way at any time.

Taking a few cautious steps forward, Marik shook his head slightly at his companion. "We have no choice but to try and get through the corridor," he said, sighing when Serenity trembled. "It's our only hope of getting out of here alive," he added, a determined glint in his eyes, "and that, we will."

Serenity looked convinced, even going so far as hopping very carefully over to the bookcase and looking down at the papers and books that were strewn around it. Kneeling down, she picked up a small one curiously.

It was a leaflet about the shop, giving details about its business and even better; it had a map showing all the routes out of the building from all of its floors! Her eyes widening, Serenity scanned it over quickly, immediately noticing that the corridor they were going to try and get down did indeed lead to a way out, leading to a back exit with a staircase to get down from, considering that it was on the second floor of the shop. With the rest of the building now blocked off, this indeed was their only hope of getting out of there.

Standing up and brushing herself off, she looked at the leaflet once more before handing it over to Marik, who had been watching with curiosity, "I hope this helps," She said, looking around with a half sad, half nervous expression, "I want to get out of this place and get back to my big brother… I need to know that he's okay!"

Nodding in agreement, Marik folded the leaflet carefully and pocketed it for safe keeping, just in case it would be needed later. "Likewise," he said quietly, helping the child over some of the weaker parts of the floor and closer to the adjoining corridor, making sure to try and stick to the stronger parts. "I have to find out if they were hurt." If they are, he added to himself silently, I'll never forgive myself for not being there for them.

Serenity looked up at him tearfully. "You don't believe what he said, do you?" she asked, surprised and a little upset.

Jumping a little, Marik gave her a quick look. "You were listening, Weren't you?" It wasn't that he was angry at all, it was just that what happened wasn't exactly something he'd want anybody to have to witness. Nobody should have to see and go through things like that.

Nodding slowly, Serenity sniffled and looked at the floor, carefully walking past a gaping hole in the floor as they finally entered the corridor. "I couldn't help it," she mumbled, her heart breaking for her friend. They didn't know each other overly well, but they still talked when they saw each other, usually when everyone gathered at the Gameshop and sometimes when they saw each other on the streets. She looked up to him as somebody she could trust and talk to. Somebody to go to when she needed help and Joey wasn't there. "Did you believe him?"

"I did at first," Marik admitted, pulling Serenity away quickly as part of the floor caved in. "Are you alright?"

Looking quite shocked, Serenity pulled herself together enough to reply, doing so just as they dodged around yet another hole and the weak flooring around it, "I'm fine," she gasped, "What happened there!" She looked dismayed at the thought of the floor falling through without any warning whatsoever; she had thought that something would happen to let them know it was going to collapse! That had been so unexpected.

"I guess the floor is weaker than I expected it to be." Frowning a little, Marik moved to the side of the treacherous corridor, skirting around most of the holes and pulling the wide-eyed girl carefully along with him. This seemed like a much safer route, the floor seeming to be more supported around the walls and away from the centre of dilapidated pathway that was their only way out.

Out of nowhere, the entire building seemed to waver, groaning under the pressure it was being put through. The cracks, which had been large to begin with, widened even further, leaving a sizeable gap for them to attempt to jump over.

Serenity cried out in shock, staring at the seemingly gigantic hole in the 'floor'. "We'll never get across that!" she said shakily, taking a small step backwards.

Marik smiled and looked back at her, reminding himself that they both had to get back to there families. "Have faith. We can do it," he encouraged gently, "just believe in yourself and remember that you're never alone. Even if he isn't there in person, your brother will always be there for you in heart."

"Y-you're right... And you, you're my friend, Marik… All the others…" Serenity closed her eyes, picturing all of her friends and her big brother all standing there and waiting for her at the other side of the gap. "I-I'll go!" she was still nervous, but at least now she had hope once again.

Marik smiled again, pleased that she hadn't given hope. "Right! You can do this." He looked around and found a place where it would be easier to jump across, right in the middle… He just prayed that the building didn't decide to go and play a few more tricks on them, maybe split in the middle and fall into two halves? That would be rather bad…

Shakily, Serenity peered over to the other side, trying to calculate how far it was. She didn't have much luck and she closed her eyes tightly, forcing herself to remember that she needed to get out of here and to her brother. She only had one shot at this… but she would make it! She shuddered and looked back at Marik, who was standing about a pace behind her. "I'll go first…" she said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"Are you sure?" Marik asked, concerned. There was still a chance that something could go wrong. It would be more than disastrous.

Nodding, she looked ahead again. "I wanna get this over with and then get to my big brother…"

"I understand," Marik replied, a quieter tone to his voice. He knew what it was like for her, as he was feeling the same way. Who knows what could have happened to their siblings? What if, by some chance, his Yami hadn't been lying? It didn't bear thinking about. Silently, he moved back several paces, giving her room to be able to make a leap across.

Swallowing hard, Serenity forced herself not to tremble and moved backwards. Gathering all her courage, she ran forward and threw herself towards the other side.


	3. Leap Of Faith Part 2

_AN- This fic is not actually off of hiatus, but I've been working on this chapter for a long while and have finally decided to post it up. My apologies for the long wait, and hopefully the next chapter shouldn't be so long in the making!_

_Reviews appreciated. :D_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or its characters._**

* * *

Thoughts flashed through her mind like mini-lightning strikes as she fell forward through the air. Desperately she hoped to reach the other side, but more prominent than any of that was her fear for what would happen if she didn't. Not for herself, no, but for her brother... What would he do if she didn't make it across? Would he be sad? Upset? Angry? Angry... He might be angry that he'd worked so hard to help her in the past, and indeed since they had been reunited. He deserved all the time he could get with her, and to sabotage that would be utterly devastating. She had to make it! 

The time it took seemed like an hour, but in actuality it had only been a few seconds, seconds that had passed so slowly that time seemed to be crawling. Then she realized it. She had missed. A shocked cry rent the air as she scrambled for purchase, desperately clutching at the sharp, crumbling edge of the torn flooring. Bits of pipe and debris dug into her palms and fingers, drawing specks of blood as she tried to haul her body upwards to safety. Tremors shook her body as she cried out, pleas bubbling from her throat, "Help! Please!" The adrenalin rush that had flooded her body took her off balance, dizzying her. More crumbling, and slowly, agonizingly, rock crumbled and fingers slipped.

The nauseating feeling of falling once again enveloped her, dragging her downwards without mercy. Then... it stopped. The jolt of a sudden pause in her descent tore another cry from her, and she looked up in shock, "Y-you caught me..."

"I could hardly just let you fall, could I?" With a quick smile, Marik managed to carefully pull her back up and over the side of the ledge, placing her gently on the floor. He had jumped just as she had started to fall, clearing the gap with relative ease and hoping that he'd be able to make it in time to prevent her falling into an even more dangerous predicament. He looked her over quickly for injuries, quickly noting the traces of blood that ran across her hands. _That was lucky..._ he thought in relief, leaning back from his crouched position, "Are you alright?" _But I still don't trust this ledge... Wonder why that is? _Obviously, his natural cynism was starting to get the better of him, lovely.

He let out the breath he had been holding when she had nodded, pulling himself to his feet again. He neglected brushing himself free of the dust that had manage to collect itself on him, knowing that doing so would be utterly pointless. There was so much dust in the air that he could feel the tickle of it as he breathed, and he wondered faintly if any had gotten into their lungs. However, considering that neither had started choking just yet, it was fairly safe to assume that they didn't have to worry overly much about it.

Glancing around, he waited patiently while the younger of the pair regained her bearings. With the threat of yet more aftershocks, it was vital that they started moving again as quickly as possible, but it wouldn't do for them to move while Serenity was still recovering from her shock.

"Marik?" Serenity asked slowly, brushing the dust off of her shirt distractedly. Her hands trembled noticeably, whether from shock or pain, or maybe both. She paused briefly in embarrassment, ashamed of herself for not being able to make it across the gap, "Thank you for helping me..." Hazel eyes swirling with a mixture of emotions, brought on by the sudden events that she had been forced into.

"Its alright," Chuckling, he pulled the leaflet out of the pocket he had stowed it in, glancing over the map, "Do you think you're feeling well enough to make it out of the building?" This was, of course, assuming that they didn't run into anymore mishaps...

"I should be," Nodding once again, Serenity straightened herself properly, also glancing around, "I want to get out of here more than ever... I want to see how bad it is outside..." She knew that there was probably a lot of damage; knew that she would probably end up more worried than ever about her brother, but maybe it wasn't so bad? Maybe the other buildings had fared better? Hopefully... Hopefully everyone was alright, and preferably not stuck in a similar situation as herself and Marik were. Perhaps they both had had bad luck today? Well, hers must not have been quite so bad, given the fact that she had ended up with somebody to help her. Marik, on the other hand...

Said Marik interrupted her train of thought before she could get too side-tracked, "Then why don't we get going? I think we may have lingered long enough, if you're sure you feel well enough to travel." Of course, he didn't mention the fact that he was sure there were going to be more tremors soon, and those tremors were likely to be the ones to bring the building down completely. If they didn't move quickly they were likely to either find themselves trapped or flattened beyond repair, and he was pretty sure neither of their siblings would appreciate something like **that** happening.

---

_Amazing how the building seems to get worse and worse the further we get to the exit_, Marik mused as they scrambled over the latest pile of stone that had collapsed in from the ceiling,_ I wonder if it'd fall over entirely with one poke._ He'd been thinking a lot since they had begun to journey once again, only speaking occasionally to give words of encouragement to the one whom he was currently trying to Shepard safely out of danger. To anyone else, his thoughts might have been deemed as crazy, but to him, it was just a way of amusing himself to pass the time. Not, of course, that the terrain wasn't difficult enough to keep him occupied; even he had to stop regularly to catch his breath, or else to check for anymore cuts or bruises.

Brushing his unruly blond bangs out of his eyes, he crouched down on the small ledge jutting out of the mound of debris and offered his hand to the struggling girl just below him. She was actually doing quite well for herself, from his previous impressions of her. She had her brothers determination, doing her best to make her way over all of the obstacles and to keep pace as they scaled the different piles of rubble as and when they came to them.

With a gentle tug, Serenity was finally next to him, panting lightly in exhaustion, "We… We should keep going…" She looked up and met his eyes, and Marik resisted the urge to sigh. She wasn't going to be able to keep going like this for much longer, especially not when it was getting harder and harder to get a decent breath of air. How did he know? He was starting to feel the effects of it as well, and he had lived in a **desert**! Shaking his head, he nodded and offered her a hand once again.

"You go first," Nodding with encouragement at her squeak, he gave her a boost up to the top of the rubble and quickly hopped up after her, clinging tightly to the few hand-holds that presented themselves to him. Hopefully the decent wouldn't be as taxing as the way up had been! More importantly, hopefully it wouldn't cause as many un-due bruises…

---

Sirens were blaring, people were running, the ground was shaking… Or, it had been.

With a groan, Joey Wheeler pushed himself up from where he had been laying unconscious on the side-walk, sprawled amidst the wreckage of a couple of nearby shop fronts. People were milling around everywhere, shouting and calling to yet more people, who were _also_ shouting and calling. More prominently was the pounding ache that rattled through his skull with each footfall or yell from the herd of buffalo also known as the general inhabitants of Domino City. Now at least he remembered why he hated headache so badly.

"My, my… Do mine eyes deceive me, or do I recognize this poor, injured mortal laying sprawled on the path before me?"

On second thoughts, oblivion was much more preferable…


End file.
